INSIDE

RINDERPEST
Current status of rinderpest in the Sudan
Mild rinderpest in the Somali ecosystem

WORLD FOOD SUMMIT: FIVE YEARS LATER - SIDE EVENT "FAO FIGHTS ANIMAL DISEASES AND PLANT PESTS THROUGH EMPRES"
EMPRES-Desert Locust
EMPRES-Livestock

CONTAGIOUS BOVINE PLEUROPNEUMONIA
Proceedings of FAO electronic conference on CBPP

INFORMATION SYSTEMS
EMPRES-i (information, intelligence, intervention)
TADinfo deployment in Amman, Jordan

WORKSHOPS
Epidemiology and training workshop in Tirana, Albania
Contingency plans and emergency preparedness workshop in Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic

COMMUNICATIONS
A perspective on the 2001 Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides Large Colony occurrence in New Zealand

NEWS
Farewell to Mark Rweyemamu
A new look for the EMPRES Web site
In brief...

CONTRIBUTIONS FROM FAO REFERENCE LABORATORIES AND COLLABORATING CENTRES

FRESH IMPETUS TO THE ERADICATION OF MILD RINDERPEST FROM THE SOMALI ECOSYSTEM

In June 2002, FAO participated in the "Workshop on Mild Rinderpest" in Nairobi, organized by the Organization of African Unity (OAU)-Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (IBAR), under the auspices of the Pan African Programme for the Control of Epizootics (PACE). This meeting brought together all stakeholders to consider how to address the issue of eradicating mild rinderpest from eastern Africa. While much remains to be done to prove that other areas are free, there is growing confidence that the Somali pastoral ecosystem harbours the last reservoir of rinderpest viral activity in Africa. Political will and existing technical tools are sufficient to achieve the task of eradication.

WORLD FOOD SUMMIT: FIVE YEARS LATER - SIDE EVENT ON EMPRES

At the 2002 World Food Summit: five years later, the side event entitled "FAO fights animal diseases and plant pests through EMPRES" was held in recognition of and echoing the Director-General's declarations made at the 1996 World Food Summit - that the pivotal constraints that transboundary animal diseases (TADs) cause on food security, sustained animal agriculture and trade be recognized. In collaboration with several national, regional and international organizations, the EMPRES programme has played an essential role in the fight against TADs.

FAO ELECTRONIC CONFERENCE ON CONTAGIOUS BOVINE PLEUROPNEUMONIA

In June 2001, FAO finalized an electronic conference on contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) that stimulated debate on key issues in preparation for the third FAO/Office International des Epizooties (OIE)/International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)/OAU-IBAR Consultative Group meeting scheduled for 2003. The e-conference attracted participants from a number of countries, and included policy-makers, researchers, field officers, project managers and directors of veterinary services.

The issue covers the period April to June 2002.